


A Strictly Homosexual Holiday

by tansybells



Series: A Victorian Era Edelgard Sandwich [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Background Ferdinand/Hubert, Beach Holidays, Edelgard Learns To Top, F/F, Gay Existentialism, Lesbian Sex, Multi, No High Stakes Here, No murder, Strap-Ons, Threesome - F/F/F, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:02:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28865973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tansybells/pseuds/tansybells
Summary: When Edelgard takes a much-needed vacation with her partners (business and romantic alike) in tow, she finds herself faced with a conundrum that she can't solve on her own: is she gay enough for her lesbian lovers?
Relationships: Hilda Valentine Goneril/Edelgard von Hresvelg, Marianne von Edmund/Edelgard von Hresvelg, Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril, Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Series: A Victorian Era Edelgard Sandwich [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116866
Comments: 11
Kudos: 45
Collections: Marihilda NSFW Week!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mcsticks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mcsticks/gifts).



“Hey. Hubert.”

Edelgard stared down at her book and desperately tried to focus on the words as, beside her, Hilda kicked her shoes against the paneling at the bottom of Hubert’s seat.

_“I want to make you mine,” Catherine growls, and Manuela’s knees quiver beneath the floor-length fabric of her dress. She wants Catherine; she craves her. Her nipples perk up beneath the velvet and she feels hot,_ so _hot, hotter than she’s ever felt before._

_“Then take me,” Manuela whispers as she draws her hand down Catherine’s wide, muscled shoulder. Catherine bares her teeth wolfishly, and just as Manuela begs her, she swoops in and devours Manuela’s lips in a greedy, hungry kiss._

“Hubert. Hubert. Hubes.”

Closing her eyes, Edelgard took a deep, deep breath. Hilda had been insufferable ever since the three of them had decided to be economically savvy and share a single train cabin with Hubert and Ferdinand. Once again, she tried to return to the raunchy book that she’d borrowed from Marianne’s less-than-secret stash.

_Manuela is a strong-willed woman; she always says her mind and lets everyone know precisely what she wants. But with Catherine, there is no need for such things. Catherine is such a force of nature, so_ powerful, _that Manuela naturally bends beneath her strength. Letting her kiss fall away, Catherine takes hold of the neckline of Manuela’s dress, and with barely any exertion on her part, tears it apart._

_And Manuela is left topless, her breasts exposed for Catherine to see. To_ ravish. _And Manuela wants nothing more._

_“Please, Catherine,” she whines, and with the confidence of ten thousand armies, Catherine—_

“Hu~bie~”

It wasn’t even as though she could be furious with her partner, either. Hubert had been less than cordial towards Hilda and Marianne a few months before, when they had been suspected of murdering Hilda’s late husband, and as fate would have it, Hilda was not the type to give up a grudge.

And it wasn’t as though Marianne was being helpful, either. While she sat on Edelgard’s other side, she seemed to have found some sort of kindred spirit in Edelgard’s other business partner. She and Ferdinand chatted away happily, like they were in some other world together, and as a result, neither of them could drag Hilda off of Hubert’s back. Edelgard didn’t actually know what they were talking about, now that she thought about it, but they seemed to be enjoying their conversation thoroughly.

“Hey. Hubert.” Out of the corner of her eye, Edelgard saw Hilda kick her legs up so that she could rest her feet on Hubert’s knees. Somehow, she managed to do it in such a way that the hem of her skirt didn’t fly up above her shins, but despite her apparent modesty, Edelgard noticed the way her dear Hubert’s expression tightened. Hilda was being the absolute furthest thing from polite as possible, and there was no doubt that she knew it.

“Hubert.” Hilda tossed her hair to the side. “Remember that time you came into my house, questioned us for hours, traumatized my wife, and generally ruined our life?”

“If I remember correctly, Ms. Goneril,” Hubert said, not looking up from his own book, “you and Marianne seem to have benefitted quite greatly from our intrusion into your life. Not only were you exonerated from all potential charges in Acheron’s demise, but you _also_ managed to leave the situation with another lover beneath your skirts.” His dark gaze flickered towards Edelgard momentarily. “No offense, Edelgard.”

Despite the heated blush that spread across her cheeks, Edelgard chuckled. “None taken.”

After all, he was correct. The relationship that she’d fallen into with Marianne and Hilda had remained steadfast despite their unconventional introductions, and she struggled to think of a time in which she'd ever been happier. Never had she ever considered for herself a life in which she had a relationship with another woman, much less _two_ of them. And in all of her wildest dreams, she would never have anticipated that she’d be on a train with said women, joined by her two business partners who _also_ happened to be lovers, and hurtling towards their vacation destination at the unimaginable speed of thirty-five miles per hour.

Apparently unsatisfied with the rise she’d failed to get out of Hubert, Hilda sighed in a most dramatic fashion and slumped up against Edelgard’s side. “Your friend is so _mean_ to me,” she whined, at which Edelgard only clucked her tongue.

“You know just as well as I do that Hubert doesn’t appreciate it when his reading is interrupted,” she informed Hilda, gently nudging her partner’s side with her elbow. “Perhaps if you refrained from pestering him so often, he would not have to react so severely.”

“You’re supposed to be on _my_ side!” Hilda groaned, then turned her attention towards their other companion. “ _Mari_ , Edelgard _and_ Hubert are being mean to me! Save me!”

Hilda’s plight seemed to be the key to ending the engagement between Marianne and Ferdinand, for at the sound of her despair, Marianne looked away from the small, playing card-sized prints of horse-themed illustrations that she was trading back and forth with Ferdinand.

“Just hold on for a moment more,” she reassured Hilda as she reached across Edelgard’s lap to absentmindedly pat Hilda’s thigh. “We’re but a little ways away from our destination, I believe. Aren’t we, Ferdinand?”

“Right!” Ferdinand beamed at Hilda. “I know Hubert can be quite insufferable at times, but after we reach the hotel, put away our belongings, and claim our place on the beach, you shall no longer have to keep such close quarters with him!” Edelgard could only marvel at the effect his and Marianne’s combined sweetness had on Hilda’s dramatics, because as soon as he spoke, Hilda’s counterfeit anger dissipated. Even Hubert’s tight expression softened, despite having been ever-so-gently chastised by his partner.

Satisfied by the success of Marianne’s mediation, Edelgard finally— _finally!_ —returned to her book. To her delight, the fragile truce between Hilda and Hubert lasted long enough that Edelgard’s reading wasn’t interrupted until the train came to a stuttering, screeching halt.

At that moment, Edelgard leaned forward to peer out of the window of their cabin, which she cracked open now that the billowing smoke of the train’s engine had dissipated. As if to reward her for doing so, a light breeze wafted in through the gap between window and sill, and the delightful scent of sea salt washed over her face. Delighted, Edelgard smiled warmly. It was one thing to talk about going on a vacation to the seashore, brief as it was, but it was another thing entirely to breathe in the salty air and realize that it was actually _happening._

The town that they’d descended upon was of the vacationing sort: large enough to accommodate tourists and their whims of fancy, yet small enough to retain the aura of quaint _other_ -ness that separated it so cleanly from the city from which they’d come. The air was crisp, the sun was warm, and despite knowing that they would be walking solidly on firm ground, Edelgard could almost imagine the way the sand of the beach would crunch beneath her feet.

When she looked to her companions to gauge their excitement, it was clear that all of the others had been on such trips before. The magic of being somewhere new wasn’t as keen for them as it was for her, but as she sheepishly pointed out the things that caught her attention through the window—the gulls that flew high above them, the distant sound of waves crashing, the bright, ethereal blue of the sky on the horizon—Marianne and Hilda joined in her delight, and they all began to gather their belongings.

They all bundled out of the train with moderate fanfare, their luggage in tow, and with the aid of a few helpful locals, quickly made their way to their hotel for the night: The Grand Almyran.

* * *

“Erm… I don’t think this is the right room,” Edelgard said as she glanced around the ensuite. She’d never been to The Grand Almyran before, but when she’d placed the reservation, she very specifically remembered having reserved a double room. She remembered having written it down on her notepad while on the phone with the clerk, actually, and she reached for her pocket to reference her notes.

This room, however, didn’t have the two standard-sized beds that she’d expected from her reservation. Instead, pushed against the middle of the longest wall and framed by crown molding, was a bed large enough to rival the one the three of them shared at home when Edelgard stayed the night.

In addition, everything seemed _larger_ than she’d expected it to be. The décor was more ornate, the pillow shams were lacier, the blankets were lighter and fluffier than even the most delicate of pastries. Everything about the hotel room was a perfect compliment for the view of the seascape that she saw through the grand, windowed entrance to the large balcony on the other side of the bed. Why, even the _bathroom_ was elaborate in numerous, immeasurable ways, and while the bathrooms within the Goneril estate were nothing to shake one’s head at, Edelgard felt nearly overwhelmed by the lavishness of the suite that they were to stay the night in.

Was this her punishment for allowing Hilda to check in for them instead of going herself? Hilda had made such a big fuss about the weight of their belongings, Edelgard had been in such a good mood that she’d taken on the role of transporting their luggage to the staircase without complaint or debate, and this was clearly what she’d gotten in return for her altruism. She didn’t like it when plans were suddenly changed from beneath her, and while she’d been wondering how they would manage the issue of having two separate beds for the three of them, she’d been certain that they would figure out _some_ way for all three of them to be satisfied with their arrangement.

Hilda’s soft touch against the back of her hand stilled her nervous tic as she reached for her handy notebook; Edelgard glanced up to see her partner smiling brightly.

“Actually,” Hilda said, clasping Edelgard’s hand in her own and bringing it up to kiss the back of Edelgard’s glove, “this _is_ our room. The guy at the front desk changed our reservation when I asked him to!” She tugged on Edelgard hard enough that Edelgard leaned her way, then took advantage of their closeness to kiss Edelgard’s cheek. “Surprise! Wasn’t that so _nice_ of him? I think we’ll have a lot more fun here.”

“It’s certainly quite nice,” Marianne added thoughtfully, picking up her bag and stepping further into the room. “I wasn’t looking forward to having to split up into two smaller beds.”

Edelgard flushed. There hadn’t been any large rooms like this when she’d made the reservation. At least, she was fairly certain there hadn’t been—when she’d asked for a room large enough for three people to sleep in, the hotel employee had automatically prompted her to reserve a room with two beds. “I didn’t intend to mess up like that,” she murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“It’s okay.” Hilda smiled at her. “We’ve had a little more experience with this, is all. You’d be surprised just how many times me and Mari have had to do this exact same thing whenever we went out together. You’ll figure it all out soon enough.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do! You’re a smart lady, Edelgard.” Squeezing her hand tightly, Hilda dragged Edelgard into the room. Edelgard stumbled forward after her, trusty carpet bag in hand, and blushed even harder as Hilda continued, “Sure, it took you, like, _forever_ to figure out that we were hitting on you, but it all comes with time.”

“And experience.” Marianne looked up from digging through her bag, which she’d set down on a bedside table, and smiled. “Don’t get down on yourself, Edelgard. We love you for you, not for the knowledge you bring to the table.”

“Yes! Exactly!” Hilda let go of Edelgard and bounded forward, launching herself sideways onto the giant bed. She struck a goofy, stereotypically seductive pose, one hand on her upper hip as she propped her head up with the other hand. “And believe me, we can provide you with _all_ the experience you could possibly need.”

“ _Hilda_!” Edelgard sputtered with embarrassment as she knocked the door to their hotel room shut with the heel of her shoe. Hilda waggled her brows suggestively, and Marianne shook her head.

“We’re never going to get to the beach at this rate,” Marianne said under her breath, but even she couldn’t keep a smile from her face. Edelgard strode across the room to sit down on the bed beside Hilda’s stretched-out form.

“Marianne’s right,” she said as she gently patted Hilda’s head. In turn, Hilda shoved her lower lip out in a childlike pout, as if she were begging Edelgard to reconsider her stance. Even in the face of Hilda’s deep, soulful eyes, however, Edelgard grit her teeth and remained steadfast. As enticing as Hilda’s unspoken offer was—assuming Edelgard was reading into her dramatic pose correctly—they would only have so long before the sun began to set. “Why don’t we get ready to swim? You can have the bathroom first.”

Hilda groaned and rolled onto her stomach, facing away from Edelgard and Marianne as she did so. “Nah, you go ahead and get changed,” she mumbled into the bed. “I’m going to just lie here and die.”

“You don’t want to see me in a bathing suit?” Edelgard prodded. She moved closer to Hilda and propped herself up above her so she could press a light kiss to Hilda’s cheek. Hilda stubbornly stared at the wall that she was facing, though Edelgard was close enough that she could see the faintest twitching-up of the corner of her lips.

“If the two of you aren’t going to get changed,” Marianne said, “then I believe I’ll take the bathroom first.” Edelgard looked over her shoulder to see Marianne pick her bathing suit out from among the clothing she’d packed.

When the idea of going to the beach had been first brought up, Edelgard had been apprehensive. She lived in the middle of a city, so she’d never had need to learn to swim. Not only that, she wasn’t quite sure of the etiquette surrounding such an experience, and she didn’t enjoy entertaining the idea of having her burn scars out on full display. But when Marianne had displayed a bathing suit of her own, and showed her the way that nearly every part of her body was covered—save for her extremities—Edelgard had found herself opening up to the idea.

To her delight, Marianne had brought the same bathing suit that she’d modeled for Edelgard. The one Marianne had was blue and white—as were most of Marianne’s clothes—and Edelgard thought it looked quite pretty on her. Seeing Marianne begin the process of getting ready to play on the ocean’s shoreline made Edelgard begin to itch with the need to join her.

She didn’t like swimming, but she _loved_ her bathing suit. Since it was made out of a thick, heavy flannel, there was no risk of the fabric being lifted by the ocean water and revealing her deformities. And since all of the other women present on the beach would be wearing clothes very similar to her own, there would be no reason for anyone to look at her oddly for being overdressed.

As Marianne began to undo the ties of her dress even _before_ she reached the privacy of the bathroom, however, she cast a coquettish, half-lidded gaze towards the two women who still lay on the bed. “I might need someone to help me get into my bathing suit, though,” she commented, off-handedly, while she fiddled with her buttons. “All those laces up the back?” She clicked her tongue. “It’s going to be rather difficult to get those done up right.”

Edelgard perked up, as did Hilda beneath her. They shared a glance. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, Edelgard pushed Hilda down so she could get a head start, and rushed to help Marianne.

* * *

Many of the seagulls that had so entertained Edelgard earlier as they’d disembarked from the train now circled high in the sky, squawking, noisily calling out to each other. A few others hopped and strutted along the beach, occasionally stopping along their path to harass the afternoon’s beachgoers for food.

They even went so far as to approach Edelgard and Hubert where they sat on the beach with a large blanket spread out beneath them. Despite their petulant cries for snacks, Hubert summarily ignored them with the same indifference he often showed Hilda. Edelgard shooed them away with a chuckle and a wave of her hands, then reclined slightly on her side, propping herself up against the bag of towels that they’d brought for later.

“I didn’t expect the seagulls to be so indifferent to human presence,” Edelgard chuckled to her friend. “It’s like the pigeons and squirrels that reside in the park back home.”

Hubert hummed in agreement. “Honestly, I’m surprised Ferdinand isn’t busy trying to make friends with them.” He looked straight ahead to where the waves and seafoam lapped up against the sand, where their respective partners splashed around in water that barely went halfway up their calves. “The last time we were here, he spent the entirety of our time trying to feed whatever birds were brave enough to get close to him.”

“The last time you were here?” Edelgard asked as she lifted her hand to shade her eyes from the sun. “I didn’t know you two had been here before.”

“A year or two ago. We had a weekend off without any cases to look into, so we decided to travel together. It was Ferdinand who suggested we come here for our trip, actually.”

“Ah.” Edelgard sighed. She’d considered the two men her friends for so long—since childhood, really—and yet she was left with the feeling that she’d never really _known_ them. Either of them. And meanwhile, Hubert arguably knew everything about her. Why, he’d known she liked women before she had the opportunity to come to such a realization--he simply knew her that well.

“I feel like I’ve failed you,” she mumbled. Hubert looked at her quizzically.

“Because you didn’t know about our relationship?” As always, he knew precisely what was on her mind. “Edelgard, Ferdinand and I did our best to keep our work lives and our personal lives separate, at least, as much we could while working with our friend in such close quarters.” He chuckled. “And, to be honest, you’ve always been somewhat single-minded. Even if we had told you, I don’t think you would have given it more than a passing thought. There was always something else to work on.”

Hubert paused, his thin brows furrowed like he was deep in thought. Edelgard watched him out of her peripheral vision, her heart beating as she waited to hear what was on his mind. She plucked at the cuff of the long flannel sleeve of her bathing suit until finally, he said, “Perhaps that is why, despite my initial misgivings, I think Ms. Goneril and Ms. Edmund have been very good for you.”

Edelgard started in surprise, but Hubert held up a hand to hush her. “It’s all well and good to want to do the right thing and help people, but I don’t think you would have lasted much longer if you’d continued to work yourself to the bone like you were prior to meeting them. From my observations, they make you want to…”

“Make myself better?”

“Mm. Precisely.”

“Do you really think that?” Edelgard asked. “That I would have ‘burnt out’?”

“Yes. In a blaze of righteous fury, as it were.” Edelgard snorted at his choice of words. Most would probably consider joking about the fate of her family to be in poor taste, but Hubert had been with her throughout the entire ordeal. He was allowed a moment of levity. “Pardon the expression. Up until a few months ago, the job was the only thing you cared about. As efficient as it made you while working, though, there was only so much Ferdinand or I could do to convince you to take care of yourself.”

Edelgard took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. “Something about that has been worrying me, actually. Marianne and Hilda, they spend so much time taking care of me, and it worries me that one day they’ll get tired of me and just… walk away. And I wouldn’t be able to blame them—I’m scarred and broken.” She took a deep, rattling breath. “I’m scared that they’ll get bored of me, and they’ll decide to get rid of me as quickly as they decided to pick me up because I’m not good enough for them.”

“I see.” Hubert shifted beside her, and while Edelgard kept her eyes closed, scared for his response, she could not have prepared herself for what he decided to do. His hand, long-fingered and cold, settled on top of hers, and he squeezed gently. The moment of familiarity was nearly enough to bring tears to her eyes, but Hubert seemed to have yet to make his point.

“Believe it or not,” Hubert said, his voice low, gravelly, and meant for her ears alone, “I have had such thoughts about Ferdinand and myself.”

Edelgard opened her eyes to look at her closest, dearest friend. Despite their years of being together, she could barely believe her ears. Hubert? Unconfident in his relationship with Ferdinand? “What do you mean?” she asked. “I don’t understand.”

He smiled thinly. “Look at him.” With his free hand, he gestured out towards the water, where their partners continued to play around amidst the gentle waves. Edelgard had to admit that there was something striking about Ferdinand, how his autumn-gold hair shone with the light of the afternoon sun. He nearly _was_ the sun, he sparkled so brightly, and Edelgard could begin to see how being in a relationship with him might be intimidating.

“As you can undoubtedly tell,” Hubert said. “Ferdinand and I are very different. Perhaps it’s merely an example of opposites attracting, but it’s occasionally enough to bring worry to my mind. He’s always so cheerful, and I’m the very definition of dour.”

Edelgard nodded. He had a point.

“At times, I wonder how he could ever love someone like me.”

“You’re the most loyal man I know,” Edelgard interjected, but Hubert shook his head.

“I’m not asking for your pity, Edelgard, or your reassurance. I know my worth.” He nodded towards Ferdinand. “And as much as I worry, even a simple smile from him can reassure me that despite my fears, he does love me. And I love him in equal measure.” He nudged her shoulder. “Now, look at your ladies.”

Bashfully, Edelgard dragged her gaze to where Marianne stood in the water, her long blue hair running salt-streaked down her back. She seemed to be staring down at the water at her feet, her head tilted to the side. Edelgard smiled fondly; knowing Marianne, she was watching tiny little fish dart in and out around her feet. While she was preoccupied, however, Hilda began sneaking up behind Marianne—she scooped Marianne up to hold her bridal-style in her arms. Marianne shrieked in delight as Hilda spun her around; sparkling droplets of water flew out around them like some sort of mermaid princess had blessed them for their jubilance.

To her surprise, Marianne caught her looking at them. Her eyes lit up with joy, and she quickly patted Hilda’s arm to get her attention. Once Hilda looked Edelgard’s way, Marianne waved excitedly towards Edelgard. Hilda grinned at Edelgard, and she lifted a hand to wave at Edelgard too—she didn’t think through her action, though, and she lost her hold on Marianne. Marianne dropped into the water with a _splash,_ and while she wiped loose hair and seaweed from her face, she began to laugh.

Their laughter rolled out across the beach to warm Edelgard’s heart, and smiling bashfully, she waved back. Hilda and Marianne switched from waving at her to beckoning for her to come join them; Edelgard held up one finger as if to ask them to wait a moment.

Hubert’s voice brought her back to their conversation. “Do you love them, Edelgard?” he asked, to which Edelgard could only say, without hesitation:

“Yes.”

“Now, from the bottom of your heart, do you believe they love you?”

Edelgard’s breath caught in her throat. For all of her insecurities, they had welcomed her without reservation. When she had expressed those insecurities, they had immediately begun to reassure her. Someone who didn’t love her wouldn’t hurry to keep her around as eagerly as Marianne and Hilda always did.

“…Yes. I believe they do.”

Hubert smiled again, and he squeezed her hand one last time before removing his touch. “Then that is all you need to know.”

Edelgard exhaled so deeply that within a few moments, there was nothing left in her lungs. Her worry lifted from her shoulders, and she smiled. Hubert had a point. She would never be able to read her lovers’ minds, no matter how much it would ease her worries, so she would have to just remind herself of the things she could count on.

Getting up to her knees, Edelgard leaned in close enough that she could gently press a kiss to her dear Hubert’s cheek. “Thank you, Hubert,” she whispered. “Now, if you don’t mind, I believe I have a few lovely women waiting on me to join them in the water. Would you like to come with me?”

“Go have fun,” Hubert told her. “I will join you later.”

Ducking out from beneath their umbrella, Edelgard stepped down the beach towards her partners, who waited for her with open arms and spellbinding smiles.


	2. Chapter 2

There was no way for Edelgard to have anticipated the aching, bone-deep soreness that permeated her body after going swimming, even hours later. They’d returned to the hotel to wash up and change into evening wear, they’d gone to a lovely restaurant for dinner, and now that they’d gone their separate ways from Hubert and Ferdinand for the night, Edelgard was _still_ tired! She felt like a limp noodle, and as she collapsed upon the giant, king-sized bed, she knew she wasn’t going to be getting back up any time soon.

There was absolutely zero energy left in her body. Judging from the way Marianne immediately sat down on the bed and laid down beside her, she wasn’t the only one. Edelgard sighed happily as she settled against the impossibly fluffy pillows at the head of their bed. 

Hilda, though, seemed to have a boundless reserve of stamina. Edelgard was caught completely off guard by that—she’d expected Hilda to claim the bed first, and the fact that she only sulked in front of them with a horribly dramatic frown suggested that there was something up her sleeve.

“What’s wrong, Hilda?” Marianne asked, rolling over to lay her head down gently on Edelgard’s breast before lifting a brow at Hilda. “It’s been a busy day, darling. We spent the whole afternoon at the beach, and we only _just_ got back from dinner.”

Edelgard hummed in agreement, and Marianne giggled at the rumbling sensation. “We’re tired, Hilda,” Edelgard added as Marianne sighed contentedly. “And quite honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t already fallen asleep.”

“Okay, listen.” Hilda put one leg up on their bed and leaned Marianne and Edelgard’s way. Edelgard lifted her chin, intrigued, as Hilda hefted her purse onto the mattress beside her. “So, yeah, I could go for a nap, but how often do we get an opportunity like this one?” She gestured out around her. “We’re in a super fancy hotel, in the prettiest seaside town I’ve ever seen. Don’t you think it’d be kinda stupid if we didn’t take advantage of this whole thing?”

Hilda snapped her purse open and with a proud grin, pulled out an object wrapped in tissue paper. Curious, Edelgard sat up to see the object closer. Marianne whined as her pillow disappeared, but her complaints dissipated as Hilda reverently unwrapped her surprise.

“I got this just for tonight,” she said as she tossed the tissue paper to the floor and held up a smoothly shaped dildo and a mess of thick fabric straps. Edelgard raised a brow and tilted her head to the side as she took Hilda’s reveal in. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen a strap-on, as the three of them had used them in bed before, but it was the sort of thing that typically got pulled out moments before being put into use. Seeing it in plain light felt something like pulling back a magician’s curtain.

“Have you had that in your purse the whole time?” Edelgard asked as, beside her, Marianne sighed.

“We have one of those at home,” she scolded, though Edelgard heard a distinct note of amusement bubbling up in her partner’s sweet voice. “We could have just brought that one.”

“It’s a special occasion!” Hilda protested, clutching the strap-on close to her chest and cradling it like a precious toy. Which, Edelgard had to suppose as she rubbed her chin and nodded thoughtfully, it probably was. Such things were expensive, according to her research—which up to that point had consisted solely of asking Dorothea, since her friend had been kind enough to walk her through what intricacies of lesbian courtship that Edelgard couldn’t bring herself to actually ask her partners.

It wasn’t that she was _ashamed_ of her questions _,_ per se, but Dorothea had been there for her when she’d first learned about the possibility of women loving other women. And as kind as Marianne was, as enthusiastic as Hilda was, there was _so much_ she didn’t know. She loved the two of them quite dearly, and she didn’t want to lose their goodwill by continuously pestering them.

With a sigh, torn apart by the mystery of navigating relationships as she was, Edelgard let the side of her head rest against the bony protrusion of her shoulder.

“—for you!”

Edelgard’s attention was ceremoniously ripped from her contemplation by Hilda’s dramatic gesture in her direction.

“What did you say?” Edelgard asked, straightening her posture. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Marianne looking at her with interest, like she was appraising her,, and it was all Edelgard could do to keep herself from shrinking in on herself. This was exactly the sort of thing that she was afraid of, but actually having Marianne look at her critically was far less terrifying than the way Edelgard had built it up to be in her mind.

“I got it for you!” Hilda sang. “Well, sorta—I got it for me first, but since I just decided that you should take it, I guess that technically means I got it for you from the get-go!”

Edelgard’s jaw dropped. She stared at Hilda, utterly dumbfounded, as Marianne chuckled beside her. “That’s not how that works, sweetheart,” Marianne said while Edelgard tried to wring her brain for even the tiniest bit of function.. “Have you even—”

“I’m joking! I’m joking, Mari.” Hilda stuck her tongue out. “I _got_ it for Edelgard, okay? We’re just the same size, so I had to, like, make sure it fit me first.”

“Oh my god, Hilda—”

“The straps! I had to make sure the straps fit! Though, like, it _is_ a dildo. If I _did_ try it out, it was only in our best interest!”

“ _Hilda_!”

As Marianne and Hilda teased each other about the legitimacy of Hilda’s claim, Edelgard frowned. “I, um…” As she spoke up, the comfortable bickering between her partners came to a sudden halt, and both women turned to look at her. “Are you _really_ sure you want me to, um, _do_ _that_ tonight?”

“Definitely! Besides, we talked about getting you some more experience, didn’t we, Edel?” Hilda purred as she sat down behind Edelgard. “Well, why don’t you get that experience first-hand, hm?”

With one hand, she rubbed Edelgard’s shoulder, pulling down the hem of her evening gown and exposing the pale, mottled, warped skin beneath. With anyone else, Edelgard would have been affronted by the action, but Hilda had never touched her with anything other than kindness and adoration—even when it came to the burn scars that Edelgard had once been certain would petrify any potential lovers. But that had never been enough to scare Hilda or Marianne away. Hilda’s chest pressed up against Edelgard’s back, so closely that Edelgard could feel the excited beat of Hilda’s heart, could barely overlook the softness of her breasts against her dress.

A chill ran through her as Hilda leaned in close to her ear. The warmth of her breath, still sweet from the chocolate mousse they’d shared over dessert, was enough to make Edelgard feel dizzy. She nearly didn’t notice it when Hilda snaked her free hand between her and Marianne and set the strap-on gently down in her lap. “What do you think ‘bout that?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Marianne interjected, “or if you’re scared to. We’re not going to think any less of you if you prefer to receive, rather than give..”

“But also, like, look at it this way.” Hilda planted a kiss on Edelgard’s cheek. “You’ll never know if you never try, yeah? Why don’t you give it a shot?”

Edelgard stared down at the toy in her lap. _If she preferred to receive._ Frankly, it wasn’t a thought she’d entertained all too closely. Whenever they had sex, it was like she spent all of her mental energy simply trying to keep up with the things she was experiencing. By the time they were done, there was rarely enough left in Edelgard for her to consider the intricacies of what she preferred—intercourse-wise, at least. All she really knew was that she loved Hilda and Marianne, and that any time spent with them was more than well worth the effort.

But now that she was faced with making a decision that weighed significantly more than whether or not she wanted to have sex, it was like she had frozen. At the distant edge of her mind, though, she felt Marianne gently wrap her arms around her waist. Hilda kissed the corner of her frown, and Edelgard closed her eyes to soak in the warmth that, even in her prolonged uncertainty, they offered to her unconditionally.

“You know what?” Clutching the toy and its accompanying straps together against the bodice of her evening gown, Edelgard scooted off of the bed. “I’ll do it,” she said. “I’ll—I’ll use the strap tonight!”

Her task complete, Hilda threw her hands up in the air and cheered as Edelgard stood up and skirted around the edge of the bed for the yet-ignored bathroom. And as she closed the door behind her, trying to ignore the deep churning in her stomach that accompanied the truth of what she’d just agreed to do, she heard Hilda chatter away to Marianne.

“I have dibs on getting screwed first,” Hilda said, her voice faint through the thick wood of the bathroom door.

“Let Edelgard choose, silly!” Marianne giggled. “She’s the one putting all the work in.”

“Well, _I’m_ the one who got the dildo in the first place. None of this would have been possible without me!”

“Oh, hush.”

Their playful bickering began to loop in circles as if playing on a phonograph; Edelgard rolled her eyes as she began loosening the stays of her dress and undoing what buttons she could reach. The buttons she _couldn’t_ reach, either because of their awkward placement or because the thick scar tissue that knotted her back sometimes made it difficult for her to contort enough to do so, she ignored in favor of shimmying her way out of the already loose-fitting garment. It probably would have made more sense for her to have asked one of her partners to help her undress—heavens knew that they had seen every inch of her body already—but the thought of lingering there even a mere moment longer with the strap in her hands felt like it would have been more self-inflicted embarrassment than she was willing to put up with.

Though, as she stood before the bathroom mirror, bare as the day she was born, staring defeatedly at the mess of straps that she had elected to put on, Edelgard had to consider that there were few things more embarrassing than the thought of climbing into the toy and walking back out to her partners wearing nothing but. Of course, that was exactly what she was going to do. She didn’t think that her smallclothes would look good beneath the semi-complicated set-up that the strap-on presented her with, loose and frilly as her chemise and bloomers were, so naked she was going to be.

She frowned at her reflection and cupped her breasts in her palms. She certainly didn’t bring as much to the table as Hilda did—nor was her chest as surprisingly large as Marianne’s—but there was something to be said for the fact that she thought her chest was at least relatively full. And if her breasts had been the focus of the night’s activities, then surely there wouldn’t have been any problems. Alas, that was not to be the case.

With a sigh, Edelgard reached for the strap-on and tangled it around in her hands until she thought she knew where her legs were meant to be. Lifting one foot, she stepped into the hole, and the other leg soon followed. Edelgard pulled the straps up until the thickest band of the arrangement settled comfortably around the curve of her waist. Doing so, of course, brought the phallic portion of the arrangement into position. Edelgard looked down at the dildo, some unfamiliar feeling bubbling up in her chest as she did so. She’d never really thought about what it would be like to have a penis, and while she logically knew that the only thing holding the base of the dildo against her pelvis was the set of straps it was attached to, the way it appeared to sprout from her body left her feeling funny.

Impulsively, Edelgard swung her hips from side to side, and the length of the dildo swayed with the motion. She snorted at the sight. Then, discarding her usual solemnity, she burst out into a full giggle as she flicked the toy and watched it swing and bob again.

“I don’t know why I was so worried about this,” she muttered to her reflection in the mirror, with her hands on her hips, her feet slightly spread out. It was something she’d seen Hilda do in front of her vanity, once or twice, and her lover seemed to be so full of self-confidence that she figured it had to be worth a shot. “It’s nothing to be scared of. It’s just a toy.”

Oh, she felt so stupid.

 _Acknowledging_ the stupidity, though, seemed to quell her expectation of complete embarrassment. It was as though if she embarrassed herself thoroughly before either of her partners could, so there would be no dignity left for her to lose! “Right! Nothing could possibly go wrong.”

“Are you alright, Edelgard?” Marianne called from outside. Edelgard froze in place. The dildo continued swinging until slowly, slowly, its momentum tapered off. “Do you need any help?”

“N—no,” Edelgard stammered out, blushing with embarrassment. She’d been hoping that she wouldn’t have any shame left when it came to the strap due to her own extravagant performance, but it simply wasn’t to be. “Everything’s fine.”

“Then why aren’t you coming out?” Hilda’s laughter rang out loudly.

Edelgard blushed.

“Be a little quieter,” Marianne chided, for both Hilda and Edelgard’s sakes. “Remember, Ferdinand and Mr. Vestra are right next door.”

“‘ _Ferdinand,’_ ” Hilda repeated in a mocking tone, and Edelgard could practically _hear_ her fingers bending in air quotes, her voice dripped with so much sarcasm. “Damn, Mari, you meet _one_ guy who loves horses as much as you do, and all of a sudden you’re on a first-name basis?”

“Don’t be so mean to her,” Edelgard piped up after gathering the courage to stick her head out of the bathroom. “Or did you already forget about how you pestered _Hubes_ on the train here?”

From the bed, Hilda and Marianne’s attention immediately swiveled towards her, owl-like, and Edelgard shrank back towards the bathroom as Hilda’s eyes widened. “Oh my god, Edel, are you _naked_?”

Edelgard automatically crossed her arms over her chest, obscuring her breasts despite being concealed by the bathroom walls. “Am I not supposed to be?”

Marianne giggled behind Hilda as Hilda tossed her hair. “No, you are,” she said with a smile. “I just get excited every time I get to see you. It’s always such a _treat_!”

“We’re more conservative with our underclothes than you are, Hilda,” Marianne teased. “Anything’s a treat when you don’t get to see it all the time.”

“Listen. I’m just flaunting what I’ve got, okay?”

As Hilda chattered on about her assets, Edelgard picked up a towel from the metal rack above the toilet and wrapped it around her chest It did nothing to obscure the sculpted erection of the dildo pressing against her pelvis, but Edelgard automatically felt better after being at least _somewhat_ covered up. She felt more secure in herself, in what she was about to do, and if she were correct, she would need that self-confidence in spades.

With a deep breath, she stepped out of the bathroom, hitting the button that controlled the lights as she went. Marianne squeaked from the bed as the lights in their room flickered off, and Edelgard took advantage of their surprise to slip onto the bed at Hilda’s side.

“You’re making it very difficult for me, you know,” she murmured, running the side of her hand down Hilda’s face as she lay beside her. She felt Hilda shudder against her touch, and as Hilda’s eyes flickered her way, bright with anticipation and eagerness, arousal began to coil deep inside Edelgard. She plucked at the neckline of Hilda’s evening dress, frowning as she’d only seen Hilda do before.

“You’re here, speaking so brashly about how you want me to fuck you, and you haven’t even gotten _ready_ for me yet.” The words felt dirty on her tongue; Edelgard briefly considered darting to the bathroom with her toiletries and scrub her mouth out with her toothbrush. But to her surprise, Hilda licked her lips and smiled coyly back at her. Edelgard blinked. Apparently, she was doing _something_ right. So, she continued. “If you want me to do this for you, then we have to be on equal ground.”

Trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, she toyed with the towel wrapped around her body, teasing the buckle of fabric where the two ends of the towel connected. “There’s nothing beneath this, you know,” she said against Hilda’s skin, her own breath hot against her lips as it rolled back onto her. “Are you going to disrespect my effort like that?”

Hilda’s smile only grew, and as Edelgard watched, she spread her legs out on the bed, hiking up the pink chiffon fabric of her skirt to her knees as she did so. “What do you mean?” she cheekily purred back, turning her head to the side so she could face Edelgard. “What do you think I was doing the whole time you were goofing off in the bathroom?”

Edelgard furrowed her brow. “You were talking with Marianne,” she said confidently, at which Hilda leaned in and claimed a quick peck from Edelgard’s lips.

“Cute,” she said. “But believe it or not, I’m _really_ good at multitasking.” Hilda flicked her skirt up just a little bit more, just high enough that Edelgard could see without a shadow of a doubt that she wasn’t wearing anything beneath the thin fabric. No bloomers, no petticoats, no _underwear—_ nothing. Despite herself, Edelgard found herself staring at the smooth, creamy skin that had been hiding underneath. As her gaze trailed up Hilda’s thigh, she found her attention settling at its natural apex. She felt her cheeks begin to heat up at the sight, and all of the self-consciousness that she’d managed to set aside for the past few minutes began to simmer back up in her chest.

Hilda did all of these erotic things so easily _,_ and Edelgard felt like she could only _dream_ of having half of the sexual energy her lover had. Briefly, she wondered if putting an end to the night’s activities would be the right thing given her concerns, but something about the way Hilda looked at her made all of her worries disappear into thin air.

Hilda looked at her like there was nothing she could possibly do wrong, like there was nothing else in the world that she wanted more. No _one_ else in the world she wanted more. It didn’t matter to Hilda that she was inexperienced or unconfident; Hilda wanted _her._

It was intoxicating.

“So, what do you want?” Edelgard asked as she gingerly ran two fingertips along the inside of Hilda’s thigh. She let go of her grip on the towel, and with a wolfish grin, Hilda tugged the terry cloth fabric away from Edelgard’s chest. A chill ran over Edelgard as she realized that, at long last, everything was laid out for Hilda to see.

“I want to feel you,” Hilda whispered, her voice trembling ever-so-slightly as Edelgard’s fingers went higher. Edelgard snorted with laughter as her fingers encountered just the slightest bit of slick against Hilda’s skin, and to her delight, Hilda blushed.

“It seems to me,” Edelgard mused, deliberately trying to keep her voice level even while Hilda squirmed, “like you might be more prepared than I thought you were.”

She looked over Hilda’s chest to Marianne, who was watching them from behind her hands with a mirthful smile. “Did you have anything to do with this?” Edelgard asked her, at which Marianne giggled into her hands.

“Where’s _this_ comingfrom?” she asked incredulously. “What happened to our sweet, shy Edelgard?”

“Is it the strap?” Hilda butted in. “It’s the strap, isn’t it?”

Edelgard ignored their questions in favor of settling between Hilda’s spread legs. The chiffon of Hilda’s dress was scratchy against her bare skin, so she pushed the fabric up towards Hilda’s hips and let it settle around her waist. With a laugh, Hilda grabbed onto the fabric and held it up for her.

Edelgard felt like she was drowning in pink. Pink hair, pink dress—even the pink blush that colored Hilda’s otherwise pale skin. And as she pushed aside the ruffles that kept her away from Hilda’s even pinker entrance, she positioned the tip of her strap against it and—

“Wait, wait.” Marianne’s arm snaked down towards Edelgard’s strap, and Edelgard gasped as Marianne moved it against her heated skin. Instead of sitting on her pelvis, as she’d thought it was supposed to back in the bathroom, Marianne’s expert hand guided the base to rest between her folds, and a little bump that she hadn’t noticed before came to a halt right against her clit.

“There you go.” Marianne patted her hip. “You’ll have a better time with that, now.”

Edelgard ducked her head down, her ears hot. She _liked_ the way that Marianne’s assistance made her feel—like she wasn’t completely alone in her attempt to successfully satisfy Hilda.

When she lifted her head back up with a toss of nearly white hair, it was with a new confidence that welled up from within and pushed her forward. She’d been putting off Hilda’s request for far too long.

“Are you ready?” she asked as she eyed Hilda critically, hungrily.

Just as she’d done before, Hilda nodded, so with a shift of her hips, Edelgard pressed herself against Hilda, against the point where her thighs met and gave way to her sensitive core. Edelgard gasped in surprise as Marianne’s adjustment made itself known right away; the bump that she’d only just noticed began to press against _her_ in turn.

“That’s supposed to happen, right?” Edelgard asked off-handedly towards Marianne, not breaking eye contact with Hilda as she did so.

“It is, it is.”

Edelgard nodded, and with a deep breath, she slid into Hilda. Using the strap-on required a motion that she was unfamiliar with, and while she struggled to pick up a proper pace, the way Hilda seemed to open up and completely envelop her gave her the impression she was probably doing something right. Thankfully, the smoothness of the dildo in combination with Hilda’s slickness made it possible for her to move her hips to and fro with a fumbling, but confident rhythm.

“More,” Hilda gasped, her typical eloquence replaced by the length inside of her. Edelgard, however, shook her head.

“We’re only just getting started,” she chided. An unexpected thrill surged through her as Hilda shoved out her lower lip in a pout, even as she was pushed up and down against her pillow in alignment with Edelgard’s movement. If she had thought there to be something intoxicating about Hilda’s easy eroticism, there was something even _more_ intoxicating about having Hilda under her control.

Hilda wanted more, more of _her,_ and _she_ got to choose if and when Hilda got it.

Slowly, deliberately, she pulled out of Hilda, who whimpered at the sudden lack inside of her.Edelgard, without warning, buried herself up to the hilt in her lover, to the point where Hilda’s entrance pressed against Edelgard’s own skin, and as Hilda shifted her hips to accommodate the added girth, Edelgard took advantage of Hilda’s slight gasp to lean in and press their mouths firmly together. Hilda tried to say something, but her voice was muffled by Edelgard’s mouth.

Faintly, on the very edge of her senses, Edelgard heard something. Breaking her connection with Hilda, she looked at Marianne through the curtain of white hair that cascaded over her shoulder —only to see that while she’d been preoccupied with Hilda, Marianne had lifted her own skirts and had begun to pleasure herself. Her mouth was agape, her cheeks red like cherries, and Edelgard’s heart fluttered at the delightful scene set before her. A giggle bubbled up out of Edelgard’s chest as Marianne let out the cutest little moan of embarrassment.

“Remember,” Hilda said to Marianne, her voice airy from kissing, “ _Ferdinand_ and _Hubert_ are right next door.” Edelgard laughed at the teasing lilt to her lover’s voice. “See, Edelgard? That’s what I was trying to tell you.”

“ _Hilda—_ ” Marianne’s free hand flew up to cover her mouth. Instead of letting Marianne stammer away, though, caught in her own words and pleasure as she had been, Edelgard leaned over to shove Marianne’s hand aside and firmly claim her lips as well.

Hilda squealed beneath her as Edelgard’s decision to kiss Marianne changed the alignment of Edelgard’s length inside her; Edelgard ignored her in favor of pulling out of her entirely so that she could continue to rain her attention down on Marianne.

“Did you think this was going to be all about Hilda?” Edelgard asked breathlessly. “She gets to go first, yes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be included. Help me?”

“What do you want me to do?” Doe-eyed, Marianne stared back at her. She looked so precious, so sweet, that Edelgard couldn’t help but steal one more, far lighter kiss.

“Tease her.”

“Tease her?”

“Yes, exactly.” Edelgard brushed her hair away from her face, then smiled charmingly. “You were doing so well teasing yourself, Marianne, that I thought Hilda might appreciate your touch as well.”

“ _Edelgard_ ,” Marianne purred at her request, “I would like nothing more.” Twisting her fingers through Marianne’s soft blue curls, Edelgard pulled her in again, she was so irresistible.

“Thank you, Marianne,” she whispered against her lips. Then, releasing Marianne’s hair, Edelgard turned back down to Hilda with a raised brow. “Do you understand what’s going to happen now, Hilda?”

Hilda pretended to think, then broke into a grin. “Yeah,” she said. “You’re gonna screw me while Marianne—”

Her speculations were cut off as Edelgard pushed back into her without warning. There wasn’t any resistance, much to Edelgard’s delight, and as Edelgard slid in and out with the steadiest rhythm she’d found yet, Marianne reached down to the apex of Hilda’s thighs. 

“Whoa, hey!” Hilda blurted out as Marianne’s fingers brushed up against the sensitive nub of her clit. She instinctively bucked her hips up against Marianne’s touch, and in doing so, she pushed down on Edelgard in a way she hadn’t been expecting. Edelgard inhaled sharply as the part of the toy that rested against her own clit began to move back and forth to build an unexpected pressure inside her.

“Don’t be surprised like that,” Edelgard said through her own shock and increased arousal. Her voice sounded loud in her own ears, yet at the same time, oddly distant. “You said you wanted more, didn’t you?”

Hilda’s jaw dropped as Edelgard caught her in her plea from before and, having decided that she quite liked making Hilda speechless, Edelgard once more covered Hilda’s mouth with her own. Hilda moaned into her mouth as Edelgard plunged in and out of her, as Marianne relentlessly circled around and played with her nerves. Not one to be left out, she gyrated her hips against Edelgard’s in a haphazard rhythm of her own.

Edelgard felt her pace begin to falter as Hilda ground down against her frantically and the toy pressing against her made her want nothing more than to ask Marianne to have her way with _her_ instead.

Thankfully, though, Hilda tensed up around her. She lifted her legs up to wrap them around Edelgard, pulling her in close and severely limiting Edelgard’s ability to move. Edelgard felt locked into her position, actually, so she leaned in close to Hilda’s face.

“You’re doing so well,” Edelgard crooned as she wiped away the sweat that had beaded up on Hilda’s brow. Hilda held her breath; Edelgard moved to soothe her. “Breathe, breathe—you’re so beautiful, Hilda. You’re doing so well.”

She was indeed aware of the way her words mirrored Marianne’s from the first night the three of them had been together, and she’d done so intentionally. She keenly remembered the surge of elation that Marianne’s encouragement had sent rushing through her at that time, and she wanted to somehow bring that feeling to life for Hilda. And while she wasn’t anywhere near climax herself, it had become clear that Hilda was.

Hilda tugged her in closer, clenching nearly every muscle and arching her back as she cried out and trembled with orgasm. As Edelgard continued to thrust in and out of Hilda with what space she had left, she could only imagine what it might have felt like for her had the length inside her been anything more than a toy. Between her ministrations and the gentle coaxing provided by Marianne, though, Hilda was eased through the elation that washed over her.

It felt endless, but with time, her cries quieted to a gentle whimper. Edelgard brushed Hilda’s bangs from her face and lay sweet kisses on her lover’s forehead as Hilda sank into the mattress beneath her, completely spent. Marianne pulled her hand out from between them; Edelgard slipped out of Hilda with a wet squelch and, sliding off of the bed entirely, began to undo the latches that held the strap-on to her body.

It hadn’t been a horrible experience—it had been quite pleasant to have her way with Hilda, actually—but it had been one thing to know of its presence. It was something else entirely to look down and see the toy as if it were sprouting out from her body. Even slicked with Hilda’s juices as it was, it once again inspired that same discomfort that she’d felt while inspecting it in the bathroom, and Edelgard wanted it off.

As soon as she was entirely bare, the toy discarded to the side, Edelgard climbed back into bed. Automatically, Marianne moved over for her, and Edelgard settled comfortably in her favorite place between Hilda and Marianne, Marianne’s arms wrapped lovingly around her waist. Edelgard pressed herself against Marianne’s chest and sighed with content.

“Give me just a second to recover,” Hilda drawled lazily, “and we can go again. It’s not fair if I’m the only one to get my rocks off.”

“You don’t need to worry about—” Edelgard began, but Marianne squeezed her tightly from behind.

“Quiet,” she breathed, a sense of urgency to her voice. Edelgard stilled as instructed, as did Hilda, and as soon as their breathing was the only thing left for them to hear, another sound made itself known.

She heard a faint thumping, the squeaking of furniture joints, and most incriminating of all, she heard Ferdinand moan, “Yes, Hubert, please! More!”

The blood drained away from Edelgard’s face as she realized what was happening on the other side of the wall, and she lifted her hands—which still smelled of Hilda, as she hadn’t had the chance to wash up yet—to cover her face in shame.

It had been one thing to hear that the two of them had been in bed together, back on that fateful night when Edelgard had called Hubert regarding her possible sexual preferences. It was another thing entirely to overhear them in the very act of intercourse. How would she ever look either of her business partners in the eye again? How would she _work_ with them again?

“You know what?” Edelgard groaned into her hands, even as Hilda shook with barely contained laughter. “I don’t think I can continue any longer.”

“You don’t want—?” Marianne asked as Hilda finally let her laughter ring loudly into the air. The gentle noises from the other side of the wall came to a halt, and Edelgard knew that there was no chance their amusement hadn’t been overheard. 

“No. Not at all.” Edelgard shook her head. “The mood has been ruined, Marianne. My two best friends are having sex next door. Do you think _you_ could maintain your arousal in such a situation?”

“What do you think we did before you figured out what was going on?” Hilda somehow choked out through her laughter, and Marianne nodded.

“We _are_ polyamorous,” Marianne confirmed, but Edelgard shook her head.

“If you could somehow make me forget what Hubert and Ferdinand are doing, then I’m sure it would be fine,” Edelgard said. “I don’t think that’s possible, though.”

“Is that a challenge?” Hilda purred, rolling over to face Edelgard with an impish glint in her eyes. “Because I think it sounds like a challenge.”

Edelgard raised her brows. Hilda had recovered more quickly than she’d thought she would, but she supposed that it made sense. There was no limit to what Hilda would do once an incentive was dangled before her. And while Edelgard had just said that she didn’t think she could be able to continue any sexual activity, there was something about Hilda’s sudden excitement that sparked her interest once more.

“What do you think, Marianne?” Edelgard asked over her shoulder. “Does it sound like a challenge to you, too?”

“It does indeed,” Marianne said. Warmth coiled in Edelgard’s chest as she felt Marianne begin to press light, loving kisses against the bare skin of her shoulder. “I think a distraction would be beneficial for you, Edelgard.”

“Well, if you think it would be beneficial,” Edelgard said, her voice rumbling deep in her chest as she rolled onto her back and splayed out between Marianne and Hilda, “then maybe we should go ahead.”

She smiled. “We _are_ on vacation, after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a day early, but if you follow me on [twitter,](https://twitter.com/tansybells) you know that my posting for the AU bang has been postponed to Feb 1 as a result of grad school and work. That said, what did you think about this? While I genuinely like the character interactions that occurred, and I'm proud enough to let them remain in this little canon I've constructed, I don't feel proud of the smut at all. I'd love to hear your thoughts, though. 
> 
> Also, today's a wrap on [Marihilda NSFW Week 2021!](https://twitter.com/marihildansfw) A lot of goodies were posted (such as those by [Lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiderlily_Writes)), so definitely check out the twitter and the corresponding Ao3 collection. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! ♡

**Author's Note:**

> In case you're wondering, Ferdinand and Marianne are playing Bella Sara. Was it in the Victorian Era? Who knows! Who cares. Not I! ♡
> 
> Thank you to Cooper, for the external motivation to make this happen. It was a long wait, but I hope it was worth it. And my eternal gratitude to [Lily](https://twitter.com/spiderlilywrites) for her endless beta work and ceaseless reassurance that I did not, in fact, lose my ability to write over the past month. 
> 
> What did you think? If you're worried about the smut, it's in the second chapter, which is already done and ready to be posted! It'll probably be up on Saturday, as I've got my AU Big Bang fic scheduled to be posted on Thursday. Follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/tansybells) for updates. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! ♡


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